Another mortgage bailout

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The Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve worked out a plan over the weekend designed to prevent the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies.

The plan allows the companies to borrow short term money from the Federal Reserve. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the Treasury will also ask Congress to quickly expand the line of credit it can extend to Fannie and Freddie and grant the government authority to buy stock in the companies.

Paulson says it's the mortgage companies play a critical, central role in the U.S. housing market.

Minnesota Public Radio's chief economics correspondent Chris Farrell joins Midday to discuss the bailout and what it means for the economy overall.